


Web Of Emotions

by regon23



Series: Spider-Woman and Spider-Man [1]
Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Woman (Comic)
Genre: F/M, Marvel Universe, Sony Pictures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-03-05 13:32:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18829666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regon23/pseuds/regon23
Summary: I do not own any of these characters.All rights go to Sony and Marvel.Does not follow MCU timelines exactly.~~~~~~~emo·tiona: a conscious mental reaction (such as anger or fear) subjectively experienced as strong feeling usually directed toward a specific object and typically accompanied by physiological and behavioral changes in the bodyb: a state of feelingc: the affective aspect of consciousness~~~~~~~Gwen Stacy is a perfectly normal 16-year-old kid. She does extremely well in school and has normal, teenage friends. She has three younger brothers, Philip, Howard and Simon, and her father is the police captain at the New York Police Department.Peter Parker isn't as lucky. When he was 5 years old, his mother and father went on a business trip, never to be seen again, leaving him with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben.Gwen and Peter's lives would soon intertwine when an unsupervised tour of a restricted room during a school field trip to OsCorp leads to something greater than a spider bite.It leads to a partnership, and maybe even a romance along the way.





	1. Characters + Prologue + Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written on my Wattpad account @regon23.

**Characters**

 

 **Chloë** **Grace Moretz as Gwen Stacy (Spider-Women)**

**Tom Holland as Peter Parker (Spider-Man)**

**Zendaya as Michelle Jones (MJ)**

**Jacob** **Batalon** **as Ned Leeds**

**Michael** **Chiklis** **as Wilson Fisk (KingPin)**

**Marisa**   **Tomei** **as Aunt May**

**T** o **bey Maguire as Uncle Ben**

**Caleb McLaughlin as Miles Morales (The Spider-man of Earth 1610)**

**Dylan O'Brien as Harry Osborn**

**Tyler Posey as Flash Thompson**

**Zac Efron as Wade Wilson (Deadpool)**

**With Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury**

 

 **And Special Cameos from Stan Lee** **(1922-2018)**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

**Prologue**

 

It's easy to feel hopeful, but there will be dark days ahead of us too.

There will be days where you feel alone.

And that's when hope is needed most.

No matter how buried it gets, or how lost you feel, hold on to hope.

Keep it alive.

We must be greater than what we suffer.

My wish for you is to become hope.

People need that.

And even if we fail, what better way is there to live.

 

 

 

My name is Gwen Stacy. Before the events that occurred to me and my partner, Peter Parker at Oscorp industries, I was a normal, bookworm of a teenage girl.

  
I had a best friend named MJ, a 4.0 GPA score, and an IQ of 137. And then came Peter.

Peter Parker.

An average, nerdy teenage boy who only ever had one real friend in his life. His best friend, Ned Leeds.

This is our story.

The story of how two polar opposites united and became an unstoppable team. And how we became something more than just partners.

How we became friends...

And maybe even something more.

 

* * *

 

 

**Chapter 1**

_he·ro_

_a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities._

 

Spider-Woman and Spider-Man.

Two names that bring hope into the minds of people all across New York.

A great man once said, "with great power, comes great responsibility."

That man was my partner in crime, Peter Parker's, uncle.

Unfortunately, I only had the chance to meet Benjamin Parker once before he was killed in a robbery.

But before I dive deep into the story of Spider-Woman and Spider-Man, I need to start from the beginning.

Oscorp Industries 6 Months Ago

The day had started like any other.

I arrived at school fifteen minutes early, met up with my best friend MJ, and then sat in the school cafeteria waiting for class to begin.

While in the cafeteria I went through the jarring everyday process of turning down Eugene Thompson, otherwise known as Flash.

"Hey, Stacy! Me, you, date, Saturday," Flash said sitting on top of our table.

MJ gave me a look of disgust before turning back to Flash.

"Flash, I already told you. Not interested."

"I'll get you one day Stacy, you'll see," he said standing up. Before he walked away, he turned back at me and pointed to my left. "Looks like you got a stalker."

I looked to my left and saw two boys that I recognized to be Peter Parker and Ned Leeds. Peter was staring at me while Ned was reading a textbook on advanced biology, but the minute I turned to look at him, he turned away blushing.

5 minutes later the bell rung, and MJ and I were off to science class.

"Okay class, today we are going on an academic field trip to Oscorp Industries, courtesy of our very own Gwen Stacy," Mr. Greenfield, our science teacher, said.

The students only responded with grunts and moans.

10 minutes later, we were all on a bus heading to Oscorp.

Sitting in a seat and waiting for MJ to arrive, I was greeted by a familiar, but annoying face when Flash came down to sit next to me.

"You rethink that date yet?"

"No, Flash. Unlike you, I have actual standards."

I could almost hear the gears turning inside his head trying to think of a quick come back, but was interrupted before he could even open his mouth.

"Move it, birdbrain, this is my seat," MJ said crossing her arms.

"Excuse me Michelle, but I was having a conversation with Gwen, so I think you should move not me," Flash said turning back to me.

"Really, because it just looks like your talking and she's rejecting you, so get up and move."

"No," Flash responded.

"She said to leave her alone Flash."

I turned my head and looked behind me only to be met with a pair of dark, brown eyes. The eyes of the one and only Peter Parker.

"What'd you say Penis?"

"I said leave her alone," he said getting up out of his seat, causing Flash to stand up too, towering over Peter by at least 6 inches.

"And why would I listen to a coward like you?"

"He's not a coward if he's standing up to you," MJ said getting in his face.

This only caused Flash to laugh and raise his fist to throw at Peter which then caused me to close my eyes.

I opened my eyes to see Peter dodging each one of Flash's punches and Flash's eyes widen five times bigger as Peter caught his fist and pushed him into the isle of the bus.

"Leave her alone Flash," Peter said before sitting back down and resuming a previous conversation with Ned as if nothing had happened at all.

"Forget it, I didn't want to talk to nerds anyway," he said standing up and walking to the back of the bus to avoid the shame and humiliation of being beaten by a guy he was twice the size of.

MJ sat next to me and bumped my shoulder, telling me to talk to my "night in not so shining armor".

"Thanks," I said turning to Peter and looking him straight in the eyes.

"Yeah, anytime," he responded slightly chuckling.

I turned back around in my seat and turned to MJ who was staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

She leaned over to me and whispered: "Peter and Gwen sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

I just pushed her shoulder away from me and flipped her off.

She responded by making her hands into a heart and adding a pouting face to the mix for dramatic effect.

Soon enough we were heading out of the buses and into Oscorp Industries.

Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a brown-haired, mid-twenties Oscorp intern who I already knew to be Elizabeth Allen.

"Hi, I'm Elizabeth Allen, but you can call me Liz. I'm a two-year intern at the one and only Oscorp Industries," she said pointing around her. "Today will be a tour of our general labs and even one of our more advanced labs that used to belong to a past employee."

MJ then raised her hand and was called on by Liz. "Who did the lab belong to?" She asked.

Liz looked down at a clipboard and skimmed it for an answer. "A...Richard Parker."

At that moment every eye in the room turned and looked at Peter with the same expression that was plastered on his face.

The look of pure confusion.

"Your father used to work here Penis?" Flash asked angerly.

"I had no idea."

"Anyway," Liz said getting back on track. "We are going to start our tour at the South West corner of the building," she said leading our classes down a hallway into another room.

After twenty minutes of touring basic labs of unimportant Oscorp employees, we finally reached Richard Parker's lab.

While inside, I couldn't stop staring at Peter. I felt so bad that kids were whispering about him and I wanted to help, but I had no idea how. I barely knew him.

Walking around the disregarded office, I picked up a picture frame of a family of three which I assumed to be Peter and his parents.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Peter staring at the object in my hand, so I quickly turned and handed it to him.

He looked at it and smiled before putting it back down.

"You wanna see something cool?" He asked.

"Sure."

He made sure no one was watching before he pulled me into a dark room.

Next thing I know the lights are on and the room is filled with dark, blue lights revealing webs full of spiders.

"This is the last thing my father worked on before he died," Peter said.

"I thought you said you didn't know that your father worked here?"

"Yeah, I only said that so Flash would leave me alone. I just didn't feel like dealing with him anymore today."

Suddenly I felt a pain in my hand and yelped.

"What's wrong?" Peter asked.

"I don't know, I think something bit me."

I heard Peter hiss in pain, so I turned my head to look at him. I saw him rubbing his hand where a mark now appeared.

"Peter, what the hell is happening!"

"I don't know," he said.

"We should get out of here," I said turning back towards the door.

"Yeah, their probably wondering where we are anyway."

We walked back into the office and walked back to the main lobby where the rest of our class was waiting for us.

I'm made my way to MJ, and Peter made his way to Ned, giving me one last glance in the process.

"Ooooh, Gwenny's got a boyfriend," MJ said in a mocking tone.

I just elbowed her and rolled my eyes.

"Here, give me your phone."

"Why?"

"Because," she said opening up my contacts, "I'm putting Peter's number in your phone."

"How did you get it?" I asked.

"Well, while you two were on your "secret adventure", I was talking to Ned and we both agreed that our number one mission is to get you guys together before the end of the school year."

I opened my mouth to make a comeback and insult her but quickly closed it when our teacher started to lead us back to the buses.

The next day I woke up and felt different. I felt like I had somehow changed.

I looked at my hand and noticed that my once red and swollen spider bite was now completely gone, leaving a small scar in its place.

I stretched my arms, hitting the wall next to my bed in the process. When I looked at the wall, I realized I had left a dent but brushed it off when my stomach rumbled and I realized just how hungry I was.

I put my hand on my stomach and felt a weird shape, so I lifted my shirt up and looked in the mirror.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw my normally flat stomach was now toned and muscular. I then looked at my arms and realized that they looked like the had twice the strength that they normally would.

I tried putting my shirt back down, but it just stuck to my hand and wouldn't come off.

I rushed over to my side table and grabbed my phone, calling Peter Parker who answered by the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Peter?"

"Who is this?" He asked.

"It's Gwen, Gwen Stacy."

"Oh, hey Gwen. How exactly did you get my number?"

"That's not important. I just really need to talk to you, like now." I said.

"Well now's not really a good time. I'm kind of dealing with something at the moment and I kinda can't ignore it," he said sounding anxious.

"So you're different too?" I asked.

"What do you mean too?"

"I mean I woke up different. I have more strength in my arms, my shirt keeps sticking to my hands and I feel far more hungry than I should right now," I said without stopping, almost running out of breath in the process.

"Oh my god! So I'm not going crazy! I thought I was seeing things, starting with the fact that I could actually see things. I woke up and didn't need my glasses, I have a six-pack now. Aunt May scared me when she knocked on my door and I jumped up and stuck to the ceiling! Like how is that even humanly possible?!"

"What the hell is going on here Peter?" I asked almost crying.

"I don't know, but meet me at Oscorp at 10. I can get us in and then maybe we can find some answers. We'll figure it out together."

I was silent for a moment before answering.

"Ok."

One word and that's how our story began.

A tale about 1 girl, 1 boy, 1 incredible adventure.


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

 

_des·ti·ny_

 

 

 

_the hidden power believed to control what will happen in the future; fate._

 

The New York air was freezing, making my ears turn a bright shade of pink and my cheeks turn red. The wind, which had started a few days prior, wasn't helping the weather at all, making it feel 10 degrees colder than it actually was. Nevertheless, I still kept my promise and was at the front door of OsCorp at 10 o'clock the next morning, anxiously waiting for Peter to arrive.

Within ten minutes of being outside of OsCorp, Peter walked into my line of vision and up the stairs in my direction carrying two cups of steaming coffee.

"Yes. Thank you, I'm freezing out here," I said as he handed me a cup of coffee.

"Triple, venti, half sweet, non-fat, caramel macchiato."

"You know my coffee order?" I asked tilting my head to the side in confusion.

"I-I just pay attention," he said blushing.

Peter took a sip of his coffee and in an attempt to distract me from a very awkward conversation, asked, "should we figure out this mystery before we freeze to death out here?"

I took a sip of my coffee, nodded my head, and just like that we were walking through the large doors of OsCorp. The short-lived conversation was long forgotten, a more pressing matter taking priority.

"So, your dad actually worked here?" I asked walking through the doors and to the security check line.

"Yeah. This place was like his second home. He was coming up on his 13th year at OsCorp before," he said pausing, "before the accident."

"What happened?" I asked.

"He and my mom took me to my Uncle Ben and Aunt May's house to spend a few nights for a business trip, and they never came back. A few days later, we got a call saying they found what remained of my parents' plane in a forest somewhere. I was five."

I was about to respond when a voice got my attention. "Miss," the security guard said gesturing to my purse.

"Oh, right. Sorry," I said. I put my bag on the security belt and walked through the metal detector to the other side.

"Ready to go?" Peter asked as I grabbed my purse.

"Yeah."

Peter led me to the front desk where a middle-aged, short-haired, dark-skinned woman sat typing furiously on a computer. She was dressed in blue yoga pants, and an orange shirt with a yellow pattern that was so unique, I didn't know how to describe it. She was wearing large, gold, hoop earrings, a golden pendant, and two gold bracelets on each hand that were so large that every time she put her hands down, they would fall down to her wrists and clank together.

"Hey Glory," Peter said grabbing the woman's attention.

"Back again Mr. Parker?" she asked stopping whatever she was doing on the computer only moments before.

"Well you know I can't stay away from you for very long," he said giving her a wink.

"Flirting, nice try Parker, but you know I let you in any way." She turned her head, looked at me and asked, "and who might this be? Finally get yourself a girlfriend?"

I looked over at Peter and saw that his face had gone almost completely red. He quickly looked at me, and then looked back at Glory, and shook his head, still blushing.

I managed to release a slight giggle before reaching my hand out to Glory.

"I'm Gloria Grant, but my friends call me Glory," she said.

"Gwen. Gwen Stacy, nice to meet you."

She shook my hand and then turned her gaze to Peter.

"So this is Gwen," she turned and looked back at me, "Peter's told me so much about you."

Both of us looking back at Peter, we saw his face turn almost impossibly darker.

"I think we should get going now," Peter awkwardly squeaked out.

"Oh, fine. Let me just print you guys passes so we don't break any more rules than we have to."

She typed something into her computer, grabbed two pieces of paper out of the printer, and put them in ID holders.

"Apparently you already had an ID on file Miss Stacy," Glory said handing us our IDs.

"Yeah, I had an internship here last summer. I left when we went back to school."

"Well, I must say, your picture is far better than Peter's."

"Have a good day Glory," Peter said grabbing my arm and pulling me toward a hallway I had never been down before.

"Stay out of trouble!" Glory yelled.

"Too late for that," Peter mumbled.

After walking down the hall for a good thirty seconds, Peter finally stopped at a door and took his keys out of his pocket. The hallway was dark and sort of creepy, so when Peter finally managed to open the door, trying before to open it with multiple wrong keys, I didn't even think before walking through the door to the familiar, but still new, lab.

"Dad made all of his best work here. I used to come here every day before they died. He wouldn't ever let me touch anything," he said as he dragged his fingers along nearby beakers and empty test tubes, "guess what he wants doesn't really matter anymore."

I walked around and realized that all the beakers had been recently cleaned which showed that despite Peter's father being dead for years, they still kept his lab up and running.

"You said he was here for 13 years?" I asked.

"Almost," Peter said stuffing his hands in his pockets and turning toward me. "He worked here straight out of college and that's when he met my mom."

"Do you remember them much?" I asked.

"Not really. Just a few small details and small memories here and there, but nothing major. Most of the things I know about him come from the stories my aunt and uncle told me. It's not the same as them telling me themselves, but it's better than knowing nothing at all. But you can't miss something if you can't remember it, right?"

I just gave him a sympathetic smile, for I didn't know what it was like to lose parents. I didn't know what to say to him.

After a few seconds of silence, Peter than his head towards a familiar door.

"What do you think they are. I mean, they looked like spiders, but they're not like any species I've ever seen before."

"I don't know," I stated, "I didn't see anything about experiments involving spiders when I was reading up on OsCorp before my internship last summer. Which means if your dad was working on this, it definitely wasn't on record. But, if you know your dad's password, maybe we can check his computer."

Peter walked over to a desk that was placed in the corner of the room and pressed the center button on the computer screen.

Peter pressed a few keys on the keyboard and then shouted in joy.

"Got it!"

"What was it," I asked moving to stand behind him and leaning over his shoulder to look at the screen.

I could tell he was slightly tense with me standing so close, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he just cleared his throat and said, "my birthday. Every password my dad uses is either my birthday or my parents' wedding anniversary. That's Dad. Always finding ways to be sentimental."

When Peter opened up the folder application, I saw a possible match.

"What about that one?" I asked pointing to the screen. "OZ Experiment Arachnid No. 00."

Peter clicked on the file and dozens of documents and folders appeared. Peter clicked on one and I started to read aloud.

"Started May 3, 2002; Ended May 4, 2007."

Peter said nothing.

"Does that mean anything to you?" I asked him.

"That was the day of their, you know, accident."

"Do you think that's why they disbanded the project?" I asked.

"I don't know, but we need to find out."

Peter started to look through the drawers of the desk, causing me to move from my place behind him.

"What are you looking for?" I asked.

"This," he said showing me a flash drive, still in its packaging.

Peter struggled to free the flash drive from the plastic. I just took it out of his hand and cut the package with a pair of scissors that rested in a cup on the office desk.

"Brain vs brawn, Peter. Brain vs brawn."

I threw the plastic in the trash, opened up the flash drive, and plugged it into the USB port on the side of the computer.

"We should download everything we can, and look at it somewhere a little more private than this."

_10 percent_

_20 percent_

_30 percent_

_40 percent_

_50 percent_

_60 percent_

We were only forty percent away when a loud siren started to blast through the rooms and hallways of OsCorp.

Everything was so loud. I could barely hear anything.

" _Code_ _Fourteen-Nineteen-Two_ _in the Parker lab! I repeat, code_ _Fourteen-Nineteen-Two_ _in the Parker lab!"_

"Peter, we have to go. Now!"

"Why? What's a fourteen-nineteen-two!"

"A network security breach Peter! They caught us! WE HAVE TO GO NOW!" I screamed.

"Wait! We only have twelve percent left! We can't leave now!" He shouted back.

"Peter, if they catch us, we will go to jail. We should not have access to these files and what we are doing right now is illegal. Don't you get that!"

"Of course I get that! But something is happening to us and I need to figure it out!" He screamed back at me.

"Don't you dare pretend that this is about our situation. You and I both know that's not the real reason we're breaking about a dozen laws right now!" I exclaimed.

"Done!" He screamed taking the flash drive out of the computer, "now was that so hard?"

"Less talking and more escaping," I said gesturing towards the door.

"Right. That would be a smart idea."

I walked over to the door, put my hand on the doorknob, but stopped when I heard footsteps rushing down the hallway, and toward our direction.

"Plan B," I said looking around.

My eyes landed on a window in the back of the lab, and I walked toward it.

"Help me get this open Peter," I said, "we're only on the first floor so if we jump out the window, land on the grass, and make a break for the parking lot, we might be able to make it out of here without handcuffs."

"You've always been smarter than me, so I'm just gonna go with you on this one."

"That is the most sensible thing you've said all day."

I reached up and flicked the lock on the window sill, causing it to pop open. I slid the door open and thanked God that it didn't have a screen door.

I sat on the window sill, put both of my feet out the window and jumped onto the grass below.

"Well," I said as Peter stood there looking like a lost puppy, "are you just going to stand there, or are you going to get out of here!"

"Right. Sorry. Just got a little distracted is all. I've never broken a law before, so this is all new to me."

"Well neither have I, but you got to learn somewhere."

Peter then jumped out the window, closing it behind him before tripping once he got to the ground and falling right into a bush.

I tried to contain my laughter while I extended my hand to him.

"Are you ok," I asked.

He nodded, declined my hand and struggled to get to his feet. "I totally meant to do that."

Looking through the window, I spotted three men dressed in security outfits walking through the doors of the lab.

"There's no one here," one of the officers said into his radio, "false alarm."

The three men turned around and walked out of the room, closing the door behind them.

"That was close," Peter said.

I turned to look at him and said, "yah think."

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

"Now we figure out what the hell is going on."


	3. Chapter 3

_fa·ther_

_a. someone there for their child(ren) can look up to as a good role model._

_b. someone who loves your children without discrimination or caveats._

_c. someone that loves without boundaries._

 

In the darkness of the abandoned warehouse, there stood a man. Tall, large, and stern.

Dozens of computers stood around him. On their screens, live videos of various places around New York were played, and all including the same pair.

Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy.

"Sir," another man said approaching the dark figure, "the plan worked. They found Richard's research."

"Of course it worked, I planned it." The dark figure responded, his voice deep and eerie.

"So what do we do now?"

"Initiate phase 2."

~~ • ~~

Sneaking away from OsCorp wasn't as difficult as I had originally anticipated. We only had to sneak past a guard at the front entrance, likely there due to the prior security breach, and over a small fence.

Afterward, we sprinted toward the parking lot and turned down the side street and into a neighborhood that I didn't recognize.

"Where are we going?" I asked Peter who was leading the way.

"My house. My aunt and uncle won't be home for a while, so we can check the files without worrying about someone barging in on us."

"What about my house?" I asked.

"No offense, but I really don't feel comfortable doing something illegal in the New York City Police Department Chief's house."

"Fair enough," I said.

Peter's house was only a 15-minute walk from the large New York building, but the walk was completely silent.

Every so often we would accidentally brush shoulders and every time, I would turn to look at him and he would be blushing.

I didn't quite understand Peter.

He would talk about math and science all day if he could with the biggest smile I had ever seen plastered on his face. But the minute he was asked a question in class, or he was asked something personal, he would turn into this shy little boy with a face the color of a fire truck.

He's been like that for as long as I can remember.

I met Peter in Kindergarten. Back then he made friends with anyone and everyone that he met. Then sometime after Spring Break, he changed. It started with no talking. Then, he stopped eating. I would glance over at his lunch table and he would just be sitting there. He wasn't eating, he wasn't talking, he was barely making eye contact with anyone but Ned at his table. Eventually, he pushed all his friends away, excluding Ned who was the only friend that Peter had left.

I never really understood why until we arrived at OsCorp, and I learned that the death of Peter's parents were the causes of his sudden depression.

Only in the past few years has Peter really started to seem happy again.

I didn't realize it, but Peter was no longer walking beside me. I turned around and saw that he had already started walking up to a driveway to a house I had passed.

"Well, come on," Peter said motioning to the door.

I walked with Peter to the door as he took out his keys to unlock it.

Walking through the doorway and into the house, I was greeted by dozens of pictures, of who I assumed was Peter's aunt and uncle, that hung on the wall.

"It's not much," Peter said, "but it's the only home I can remember, so I love it regardless."

"I think it's perfect," I said. "I live in a building in the middle of the city, and even though it's the only home I've ever known, I sometimes wish that I lived somewhere quieter, around other families. I know it sounds kind of stupid, but I've always wanted to live in a place with a yard, maybe get a dog. I've never had a pet because my building didn't allow it." I turned and looked at him. "Stupid, right?"

"No," he said. "I think it's amazing."

Both he and I were now blushing at the compliment, neither of us knowing what to say.

"So," Peter said breaking the silence. He held out his hand and I placed the flash drive on his palm. "Let's go solve this mystery.”

Peter’s room was how I had imagined it to be. Star Wars and science posters almost covering the walls, half-built lego creations on top of his dresser, and even a few homemade electronics lying around.

As I was looking at his room, Peter was walking to his desk where an older looking computer sat.

Peter sat down, turned it on, put the flash drive in, and every folder we had seen earlier appeared on the screen.

“I don’t even know where to start,” Peter said.

I didn’t know where to start either. The drive contained dozens of files that would take a few hours to sort through.

“Let’s just start with the video, and see where things go from there.”

Moving his mouse to the middle of the screen, Peter pulled the video up and pressed play. On the screen, a middle-aged man appeared. Peter seemed to recognize the man almost instantly. Then, I recognized him too.

Peter's father was the man on his screen.

The time stamp in the corner of the screen showing it to be several hours before his disappearance.

“Testing. My name is Richard Parker. Whatever lies will be told about me, I would like the world to know the truth. The common household spider is unlike human cells. There’s a containment power to self-heal, from severe infection, tissue damage, etc. We’ve used a radioactive isotope with compatible human DNA. The hope was to extract the venom from their glands and turn that into a cure. An agent that heals diseased cells. OsCorp was already a leader in genetic research when Norman Osborn made a deal with a foreign military organization to continue funding my research, and I discovered what they were going to use it for. Weapons, biological weapons, of course. So I refused, and now to eliminate me from the picture, Norman Osborn has falsified evidence against me in order to take control of my work. It doesn’t matter because there is something else that Norman doesn’t know. The Human DNA that I implanted in the spiders was my own, which means that without me, without my bloodline, OsCorp can never replicate or continue my experiments... I have destroyed as much as possible from the archives, but I didn’t have time to kill all the spiders. So as a scientist my choice is very clear now, I have to disappear, I have to get as far away from here as I can. But as a father, it means I may not see my boy again and nothing is as important to me as my son, Peter. Nothing in this world. But I have a responsibility to protect the world from what I’ve created and protect him from what I know Osborn is capable of. People will say that I’m a monster for what I’ve done, and maybe they’re right. I always thought that I’d have more time.”

Richard diverted his attention towards a muffled voice sounding as though it belonged to a small boy that could be heard in the background, calling for his father.

He turned back to the screen. “I’m sorry. Tell my son his mother and I love him.”

And then the video went black.

I averted my eyes from the screen and looked at Peter. "Are you okay?"

When Peter didn't answer, I put my hand on his shoulder which he gladly took into his own, turning to look at me.

Now being able to see his face, I could see his eyes were red with unshed tears glazing them over.

Our moment was soon interrupted by the sound of the front door opening.

"Crap. That's probably my Aunt."

"I thought you said she wouldn't be home until later."

"Peter?" She yelled from downstairs. "Are you up there?"

"I'll be down in a second," he shouted back.

"Well, we'll have to revisit this at a later time," I said. "Just close the file so your aunt doesn't see, and we'll go downstairs. We just need to play it cool."

Peter closed his laptop, and grabbed the flash drive, handing it back to me.

Walking down the steps, I could hear the sound of footsteps coming from a place I could assume was the kitchen.

"Hey, May. Why are you home so early?" Peter asked.

"Well," she said, her back facing us. "I got off work early, and I thought I would come home early to get an early start on dinner."

She turned around with a carton of eggs in her hand and stopped moving, almost dropping them, to look at me.

"And who might this be?" She asked.

"Gwen Stacy. It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Parker."

"Please, call me May."

She put down the carton of eggs and extended her hand towards me for a handshake which I quickly accepted.

"So, Peter. You didn't tell me you had a girl over," she said raising her eyebrows and winking.

"Well-I-um-we…."

"Actually, we're chemistry partners. We have a project due next week, and my house is farther away from school. I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all," she said picking up the eggs and putting them in the fridge. "It's nice to see someone other than Ned around here. Don't get me wrong, he's a nice boy and all, but Peter doesn't have a lot of friends so-"

"Okay, May," Peter said cutting her off. "I'm gonna walk Gwen out."

"Oh, Peter. Were you crying, why are your eyes so red," she said walking over to him and putting her hands on his face.

"May, seriously," he said pulling her hands away. "I'm gonna take Gwen outside."

"Again, nice to meet you," I said waving goodbye.

"Nice to meet you too. I hope to see you over sometime soon. Maybe you can come to dinner tomorrow," She gave me a small wink, and my face started to blush.

"It's fine, I don't want to impose."

"No, I insist. It's not every day Peter brings home a girl. Especially one as pretty as-"

"May!" Peter practically screamed. "We're leaving the house."

"Ok, fine." She said finally defeated. "How does five thirty sound, Gwen?"

"I'll be there."

Peter practically pushed me out the front door, shutting it behind him. We both then sat down on the outside steps, and I pulled my phone out of my pocket to order an Uber.

"So," I started. "I didn't realize how bad of a liar you are."

"Only when it comes to May. Or Ben. Or sometimes Ned. And maybe with some teachers. But thats besides the point."

"Well, you are definitely not like your aunt."

"How so?" He asked.

"I mean, you're so quiet. I don't ever hear you speak your mind, and you never stand up for what you want. I've known you since kindergarten, Peter. I know you're smart and I've never seen a problem that you couldn't solve, but you have no confidence in yourself."

Peter didn't say anything. He didn't even make eye contact with me until my Uber pulled up.

I walked up to the car and opened the door, stopping to talk to Peter.

I turned my head back towards him. "It doesn't matter what you are. It only matters what you do. It's your choice. We're far from perfect, but we are good."

With that, I stepped into the car and closed the door, leaving Peter to stare at me from the steps.

I didn't know why I agreed to come to dinner tomorrow. Maybe it was because I didn't want to disappoint Peter's Aunt by saying no.

Maybe it was because I was curious about who Peter really is or maybe I just wanted to meet his uncle.

For the first time in a long time, my brain wasn't telling me what to do.

I don't know why, but I didn't mind.


	4. Chapter 4

 

_fam·i·ly_

_a. the people in your life who want you in theirs_

_b. the people who accept you for who you are_

_c. the people who love you no matter what_

 

Standing in front of my closet, it was almost five. Clothes littered my bedroom floor, my closet looking as though it had been ransacked.

I'd usually be ready by now, but I wanted to make a good impression on Peter's family.

I didn't know why I cared so much. I hadn't even put this much effort into meeting my first boyfriend's family for the first time.

I had dated a boy named Harry during my sophomore year. Harry was a year older, smart, he made me laugh, and we were alike in certain ways.

We had dated almost the entirety of that year until Harry moved to LA when his father was arrested.

Harry's father was the co-founder of OsCorp, Norman Osborn.

OsCorp was created by Norman and his former teacher Mendel Stromm. Sometime after the creation of OsCorp, Stromm was arrested for embezzlement.

Soon afterward, Norman was granted full control of the company.

But being CEO took its toll on Harry. Norman never really had time for his son.

That's one of the similarities Harry and I shared. Neither of us saw our fathers as much as we would have liked to. The difference was, my father always made an effort.

When I met Harry's father, he seemed normal. Well, as normal as any billionaire CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world could be.

_Last Year_

_Walking towards the large building in front of me, I turned to my boyfriend._

_"What if he doesn't like me?" I question._

_"He'll love you. But just so you're aware, he can be very overdramatic."_

_"He can't be that bad." The look on his face seemed to disagree with me. "Come on Har, he's your dad."_

_"Which is exactly why I'm warning you. Trust me, I've known the guy my whole life."_

_I gripped onto his hands with both of mine._

_"Let's just go inside and see what happens. And hey, if you want to leave just tell me and we'll leave."_

_He nodded his head and I let go of one of his hands, still holding onto the other, giving it a reassuring squeeze._

_Walking through the front doors, I noticed that the place looked like a palace._

_Noticing my shocked expression, Harry just leaned his head to the side of my face and whispered, "yeah. I know. It can be overwhelming sometimes."_

_"Harold. So nice of you to finally show up on time."_

_I don't know how he got there or how long he had been standing there, but from behind us came the voice of the one and only Norman Osborn._

_I had read every article about almost every experiment that OsCorp Industries had ever done before applying for my internship, so I knew every scientific-related thing there was to know about Norman Osborn._

_Harry and I turned around and were met with the sight of him standing in the middle of the entrance we had just walked through._

_"So," he said turning to me. "You're the famous Gwendolyn Stacy that my son has been telling me about."_

_I blushed at his words and extended my hand to him, letting go of Harry's._

_"You can call me Gwen, sir. It's an honor to finally meet you. I've read all of your research on nanotechnology and I think it's genius." I said shaking his hand._

_"A woman with a real brain. I like this one," Norman said._

_He let go of my hand and Harry reconnected it with his, shaking out of nervousness._

_"Thank you, sir."_

_"Enough with the formalities. Call me Norman."_ _He_ _flashed me a crooked smile. "Shall we."_

 _The three of us walked to the elevator and Harry pressed the top button._

_The things that were said later that night is a story for a different time._

Harry's mom had gotten sick when he was eight and died soon after, leaving Harry with just his father.

After numerous failed experiments and lost investors, OsCorp was slowly, but surely, going bankrupt.

Norman did whatever he could to try and save his company, but landed himself in jail instead.

A few weeks later, a new CEO was elected and was able to restore the company to its former glory.

After he was arrested, Harry was shipped off to a boarding school in Europe.

He never said anything to me, and I hadn't seen him since then.

I was never one of those girls that went out with the hot guys and fell into social stereotypes. I never cared what someone thought, and I never changed for anyone.

Harry seemed in no way to be a stereotypical 16-year-old boy. But at the end of the day, he was just like every other spoiled, rich kid.

For some reason, Peter was different.

Around Peter, I never was scared to turn my head. I knew that if I were to turn around, I would just see Peter. The brainy, sweet, kid that somehow knew my coffee order, who never failed to make me smile. The boy who always snuck glances my way that, despite his belief and knowledge, I always saw no matter how hard he was trying to be discreet.

I glanced over at the clock realizing I only had twenty minutes until I had to be at Peter's house.

I quickly checked myself in the mirror before grabbing my phone and rushing out of my room towards the front door, grabbing the wrapped plate of cookies I had made earlier off of the dining room table.

"And where do you think you're going,  _Gwendolyn_."

I turned around and was greeted with the small face of my brother, standing with his arms crossed in the middle of the hallway.

"Out,  _Edward_."

"Do mom and dad know?"

"Yes, now would you just mind your own business for once in your life?"

Not caring for his response, I opened the door and walked through it before he could utter a word.

Stepping out of my building and onto the street, I hailed a cab and set off for my destination.

After a very awkward ten-minute cab ride full of unfunny jokes and strange smells, the car finally turned onto Peter's street.

I grabbed my things set beside me, paid the cab driver, walked up to Peter's front door and rung the doorbell.

I had barely put down my hand before the door swung wide open and I was pulled into a hug faster than I ever had in my entire life.

The hug happened so quick that I couldn't at first see the person hugging me, but I knew it wasn't Peter. Peter was easily four inches taller than me even when I wore heels. This person was my height, maybe even shorter.

"Oh, Gwen. I'm so happy you could make it."

I was pulled out of the hug almost as quickly as I was pulled into it, only to met with the face of Peter's Aunt May.

"Me too, Mrs. Parker. Oh, these are for you."

I handed her the plate of foil-wrapped cookies and she put a hand over her heart.

"You are very sweet, but you didn't have to go through the trouble of making these. And I told you, please call me May. Mrs. Parker makes me feel old. Let me take that jacket for you."

I took off my jacket as I looked around the room for Peter.

She must have noticed my wandering eyes when she took my jacket because she knew the answer I was looking for almost immediately.

"Peters in his room. I'll call you guys when it's time for dinner," she said with a wink.

As I made my way up the stairs, I heard the distinct sound of footsteps. Except these footsteps sounded as though they were pacing.

They sounded louder.

Like, feel it through your skull as your brain feels like it's going to explode, kind of loud.

I could hear everything. I could hear the sound of the TV coming from the kitchen. I could hear the heavy breathing and mumbled words coming from the inside of Peter's room. I could even hear the sound of crickets outside.

Yup. Definitely something to explore at a later date.

Silently walking up to Peter's open door, I could now clearly hear his mumbled words from before.

"No, she's not going to find out. But I have to tell her before she figures it out on her own. Yes. No, what will she think of me if I tell her? She's gonna think I'm a freakin loon. God damni-"

"Hey."

Peter jumped in surprise, tripping over his own feet towards me. For a second it was almost like everything was in slow motion as I caught him before he could hit the ground.

"Slow your roll there, Einstien."

Peter pulled himself out of my arms as quickly as he had fallen into them, looking nervous at the common nickname.

"Are you okay?" I asked concerned by his reaction.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."

Yet another thing to explore later.

"Sorry about yesterday. I was just upset about my dad. I hadn't heard his voice in 12 years. I just kind of shut everything out around me. I guess I've always sort of been that way."

Noticing a tear in the corner of his eye, I pulled my sweater down over my hand and wiped it before it could fall.

"Don't ever apologize for missing your family, Peter. No one should ever have to go through what you went through, especially at 5 years old. You were just a kid, and every kid deserves their parents."

Peter didn't make eye contact with me. He just nodded his head and walked to the opposite side of the room towards his computer.

"So, I read through a few of the files on the flash drive and I found that most of them contained detailed anatomy of pretty much any spider known to existence. I didn't open every file, but you need to check this one out."

I could tell he didn't want the previous conversation to continue, so I decided to respect his wish and walked towards him.

On his screen was a navy spider. It's 8 legs almost a dark purple and its pedipalps and fangs a glowing, almost radioactive looking blue.

"Now, when I first looked at this spider, I thought 'this must be fake or at least photoshopped'. But then I thought about the spiders that bit us."

"I remember the room was dark when we went inside. I remember the lights."

"Blue lights more specifically. And look right there," Peter said as he pointed to the spider's cephalothorax. "Do you see the faint letters in blue."

Blinking and stepping closer to the screen, I could see the letters as clear as day. So clear that I had wondered why I hadn't seen them in the first place.

The letters read:  **OSCORP Industries**

"I'll bet anything that these were the spiders that my father made. He said that he didn't have time to destroy them all. Two of them must have bitten us."

"Your father also said that OsCorp was trying to make them into weapons. We can't let these get into the wrong hands. We need to learn as much as we can about everything in these files and then destroy them before OsCorp figures out we stole them."

"Okay, then we need to do that as fast as possible. Besides me, the last person to get into my father's computer was him, so at least we know that OsCorp doesn't already have this information."

So for the next twenty minutes, I wrote down thorough notes while Peter drew every detail of OZ Experiment Arachnid No. 00.

So focused on the work in front of us, both Peter and I jumped when we heard the loud voice of Peter's aunt downstairs.

"Peter! Gwen! Dinner's ready!" She screamed.

"Coming!" Peter shouted back. "Gwen, what do we do! We haven't found a hiding spot yet and I don't know how to explain this if she finds these!"

"Peter?"

"Yeah?"

"Breath."

I put both of my hands on his shoulders which I was glad he didn't flinch away from this time.

"If your aunt finds our notes, then we'll just tell her it's for our project. But if it comes to that, just let me tell her because you are a terrible liar."

"Ok."

Peter pulled out of my grip and went to his closet. Confused, I watched as he pulled out a torn folder with the word  _CHEMISTRY_ written in faded sharpie across the front of it.

Peter gathered the papers we had previously been writing on and stuck them in the folder pockets before slipping the folder in one of his desk drawers.

Peter held out his arm and asked, "shall we, my lady?" in a horrendous British accent.

"We shall," I responded in my own, weird accent.


	5. Chapter 5

**WARNING. DO NOT READ IF TRIGGERED BY SEXUAL ASSAULT.**

**SEXUAL ASSAULT HOTLINE OPEN 24/7 - 1-800-656-4673**

 

_trau·ma_

_a. any physical change damage to the body_

_b. and emotional wound or shock often having long-lasting effects_

We walked down the steps and towards the kitchen, laughing at an awful spider pun Peter had made when we had first exited his room.

In the kitchen stood a man as tall as Peter with hints of gray in his otherwise brown beard and hair. He looked so much like Peter's father that I almost thought I was seeing a ghost.

Peter's Uncle Ben.

"You must be Gwen Stacy," he said as he extended his hand

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Parker," I said shaking his hand.

He opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Peter's Aunt spoke up.

"She's too polite to call you by your first name Ben, so don't even try."

"We'll see about that," he smiled warmly at me.

 

"Wait, you did what!" I asked laughing.

After dinner, Peter's Aunt and Uncle started recalling stories of Peter's childhood.

"I was 8, ok? I didn't know it was poisonous," he chuckled.

Peter had been quiet all night, only adding smart comments here and there.

"You see a red and yellow leaf and you think it's, what? A flower?" I asked.

"Well, I had never seen it before. I wasn't exactly a flower enthusiast."

"That's not even the best part," May says. "It was right before school, so when he got to class, he gave it to his teacher as a birthday present."

"Wait! Is that why Mrs. Jacobs was out for a whole week out of nowhere?" I asked.

"Yeah, not my finest moment," Peter said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well I don't know about you, but I'm full," May said standing up and grabbing her plate along with her husband's.

"Here, let me help you with that Mrs. Parker," I said also standing and grabbing my own and Peter's plate.

She stared at me for a minute before turning her gaze to Peter.

"Hear that Peter?" She turned back to me. "Good to know that some teens your age do things without being asked to."

Following her into the kitchen, we both put the plates in the sink and started washing.

"So, chemistry partners," May said nudging me and winking.

"Yeah, we have a project due at the end of the semester. We've practically been working on it since we started chemistry this year."

"And what may I ask takes so long with a single project. Especially one that requires two people."

"Well, we have different sections each semester, but the overall subject of our focus is on the genetic make-up of spiders along with their venom and webs."

"That sounds...interesting," she responded. "Definitely not something that we did when I was your age. That's for sure.

 

We were almost done drying the dishes when Peter stuck his head into the entryway of the kitchen.

"Hey, Gwen. Can we go for a walk around the block for a few minutes?" He asked.

I looked at May.

"Go ahead sweetheart, we're practically done anyway."

I nodded my head, dried my hands, and walked towards Peter.

He had already grabbed my coat for me so when we reached the front door, he helped me put it on.

I thanked him as he put on his own before opening the door and walking outside.

"So," I started, "what was up with you tonight. Besides the whole unknown spider that bit us and the secret research thing."

Peter just looked at his feet while we walked down the street.

"Does this have to do with the Einstien thing earlier?" I questioned.

Peter seemed to cringe at the very word.

"Okay, I don't do well with secrets so I'm just gonna tell you."

We stopped walking, but Peter still kept his head down.

"During the summer before we started middle school, I went to the library. Like every day. Ned was away at a summer camp and I didn't really have any other friends, so instead of sitting home and reading all day, Aunt May made me go out and go to the library to read. I guess she wanted me to have more friends. At first, I thought it was ridiculous. Why go to the library and be around strangers when you can enjoy a book in the safety of your own room. And then I met Skip. He was a few years older with the coolest hair I had ever seen, and he told the funniest jokes I had ever heard. My Aunt and Uncle were happy that I finally had another person to hang out with, that they didn't really care for his age. I used to go over his house all of the time. We would read comic books and he would give me advise on school and girls. I didn't have any siblings, so while Ned was gone, he was the closest thing I had to a brother. He always called me Einstien because he said I was smarter than anyone else he had ever met.

"And then one day, I stopped going over. My Aunt and Uncle were confused. I had gone from hanging out with him almost every day, to not even mentioning his name. Eventually, May finally asked me what was going on. And, God, I just couldn't keep it in anymore, Gwen. I broke down right in front of her. May just held me as I cried. She didn't ask me questions or say anything at all. I guess I was so loud that Ben heard me and came into my room. He sat with me until I stopped crying, which I only did because I think for the first time in my life, I ran out of tears. I told them that one day when Skip's mom wasn't home and we were by ourselves, Skip pulled out these magazines. I didn't know what they were at first, but then I read the title. It was so bad, Gwen. I couldn't move. I wanted to run as fast as I could, as far as I could until I was away from him but I couldn't move. I couldn't even breathe. So when Skip suggested to me, no, told me that we should touch each other like the people in the magazine, I couldn't get away from him. I told him, no, but he was bigger, stronger, faster than me. Even if I could move a limb, I knew he wouldn't let me leave. Ben and May were furious. They never told me what they did after that, and I had no desire to ask. All I know is that I haven't seen Skip in 5 years.

"I don't trust people. I don't let people in because what if I do and it happens again? I can't do it again. I'm sorry if this changes the way you see me."

For the first time that night, I truly felt Peter's pain. I understood why he was the way he was.

"Peter," I said. "Look at me."

He kept his head down.

"Peter? Please."

When he didn't lift his head, I put a finger under his chin and lifted it for him.

"I will never treat you like you are anyone other than Peter Parker. You are the sweetest guy I've ever known. Nothing can ever change the way I see you."

With shaking hands, he wiped the stream of tears running down his face.

"I was pregnant."

His eyes went wide.

"My ex-boyfriend Harry and I dated during Sophmore year. When he moved away, I was pregnant. I found out after he had already left and I had no way to contact him, so he never knew. My parents still don't know. I went to an abortion clinic a few days later, but when they did an exam they discovered that the fetus' cells had rapidly degenerated in utero. The doctors had no idea what caused it. They wanted to do tests, but I had to get out of there. I couldn't let them use me as a lab rat.

"Yes, horrible things do happen. You can have the worst crap in the world happen to you and you can get over it. All you gotta do is survive. Happiness, in the face of all of that, that's not the goal. Feeling horrible, and knowing that you're not gonna die from those feelings, that's the point. You are extraordinary Peter. Don't let anything anyone says or does affect the way you see yourself."

Peter grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

"You truly are an amazing woman Gwen Stacy."

"We better get back inside before your Aunt thinks we got lost," I said.

"Too late for that. She thinks I get kidnapped every time I leave the house," he chuckled.

It was nice to hear his laugh and to see his smile.

We walked back to his house, hands still intertwined.

We only separated when we saw Peter's Aunt standing on the porch.

"Finally!" She said. "I thought you two got lost or were taken by a stranger or something!"

"Told you," Peter whispered in my ear. "We were gone for ten minutes, May."

"I still worry," she said. "Now get inside before you get frostbite."

"Again, it's been ten minutes," Peter responded sarcastically.

"Just get in the house smart ass."

I tried to hold in my laughter as I followed them inside.

 

**SEXUAL ASSAULT HOTLINE OPEN 24/7 - 1-800-656-4673  
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_Choosing to get help does not make you **weak** , it makes you  **strong**._


	6. Chapter 6

_friend  
_

_a. someone you'd do anything for_

_b. someone who knows all about you and still loves you_

 

"Alright," Peter said as we once again entered his bedroom. "I think we need to finish copying down as much as we can tonight and then tomorrow after school, we can destroy the drive."

"Actually, I was thinking about that. I don't think we should destroy it" I said closing his door and sitting down on his bed.

"What! Why not?"

"Think about it, Peter. Do you know how much information we would have if we kept the drive?"

"I guess you're right about that part. But what if someone finds it?" He asks.

"Then I guess we'll just have to hide it."

~~~~~~

The next morning at school, I tried my best to act normal.

Keyword being  _tried_.

Walking into school I managed not only to bump into virtually every person I crossed paths with but also manage to get my hand stuck to my locker.

"So how was your date last night,  _ _Gwendolyn__?" MJ asked leaning against the identical blue locker next to mine.

"It wasn't a date,  _Michelle_. I just had dinner with his family."

"You really don't have any experience with, like, anything do you?"

"You've never even been in a relationship before."

"You don't need a boyfriend to have  _experience_ ," she said smirking.

"You're disgusting," I said laughing and shutting my locker.

We then walked to French together arm in arm.

About 20 minutes later, a girl walked into class. I know I had never seen her before, but something about her just seemed familiar.

"Okay, we have a new student today. And don't worry Miss Potts, I'm not mean. I won't make you introduce yourself," Madam Maccherone said.

The girl, despite clearly being nervous, seemed excited to be in school unlike most people here.

She walked towards the back of the room and sat down in the empty seat next to mine.

"Hi," she said extending her hand. "I'm Morgan Stark."

 _Stark_. That's why she looks so familiar.

"I'm Gwen Stacy," I said shaking her hand.

"And this," I pointed to the person in front of me, "is Michelle Jones."

"But you can call me MJ," she said also shaking Morgan's hand. "Feminist and future reporter."

Morgan tilted her head slightly and raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry," I said. "She tells anything and everything to anyone willing, and those unwilling, to listen. Though you spend one day with her and you'll know everything you need to know about her. And some things you don't."

"Good to know."

Three periods later, MJ and I were sat at our lunch table. Peter and Ned ate their lunch in there Engineering classroom, so the only person I hung out with at lunch was MJ.

"Wait, you told him about him Assborn!" Michelle yelled in a hushed tone.

After Harry, Michelle refused to say his name. Hence the name  _Assborn_.

"Well he told me something really personal, so I just told him something equally personal so he wouldn't feel so left out."

"But that memory in particular!"

"You should have seen his face, M. He was so upset I couldn't just say nothing."

"Well, you could have. Personally, I would have told him to-"

"Is anyone sitting here?"

I turned around before my eyes were met with Morgan's.

"No, go ahead."

"Okay," MJ started. "A few things you'll need to know so you won't get confused. Gwendolyn Stacy. A+ student, daughter of the NYPD police chief, beautiful girl that would rather read a book than go to the mall. Basically, she's practically perfect in every way. She's known this boy named Peter Parker since kindergarten. Now, Peter is as much a geek as Gwenny here and he has had a crush on her for as long as I can remember. A few days ago, our science class went on a field trip to OsCorp Industries. Of course, the only time I wasn't looking, Gwen and Peter sneak off together and come back all awkward and flustered. Don't ask what happened because she won't tell me. Then the next day they hang out in an 'unimportant' location and then go back to his house. Now, Gwen claims that nothing happened but the next day she had dinner, with his family! And now she refuses to accept that it was a date."

I don't even think Morgan so much as blinked before immediately responding to Michelle's rant.

"That was totally a date!"

"Finally! Someone who agrees with me. You should see the way they look at each other!"

"You know I can hear you, right?" I asked.

"Oh, be quiet. The sensible ones are talking here," MJ responded.

After a few minutes of a back and forth conversation between Morgan and Michelle, I decided that was enough.

"So, Morgan." She stopped talking and turned her head to look at me. "Why did Madam Macch call you Miss Potts? I thought you said your last name was Stark."

"Well, my real name is Morgan H. Stark. And no, I have no idea what the H stands for because my father refuses to tell me or my mother. I went to a private school my whole life and after ten years of constant complaining, my father finally let me go to public school. The only condition he had was that I enroll under my mother's maiden name instead of my own so that we could draw less attention."

"How come you didn't like private school?" Michelle asked. "I would kill to have an isolated education."

"It's not so fun when everyone in school knows you're the only child of THE Anthony Stark. They think you're a show-off. Like I chose to be born into a legacy that comes with so much baggage."

"I get that part," I said. "Great expectations, even bigger responsibility."

"It also doesn't help when your father is a superhero."

"Wow. Now I feel left out. My parents are just accountants."

 

I was 10 minutes into a conversation with Morgan about the STEM program in our school when none other than Eugene Thompson walked up to our table.

"Stacy," he said in his surfer-like tone as he sat down and put his arm around my shoulder. "How about we reschedule that date for Friday night."

"And, you are?" Morgan asked.

Flash looked her up and down before winking at her.

"Flash Thompson. But you can call me anything you want. What's your name?" He asked, his arm still wrapped tightly around my shoulder.

"Morgan Potts."

"What kind of a name is Potts?"

"I don't know. What kind of a name is Flash?"

"Touché. Anyway," he said turning back to me, "you owe me a date."

I stared at him.

"Walk away, Eugene. I've been telling you no since the 8th grade. What makes you think that today would be any different?"

"Oh, come on Stacy. Just one date."

I pushed on his chest to try and get his arm to de-attach from me. I guess I pushed him a little too hard because the next thing I knew, he was on the ground.

"Damn, Stacy. You're stronger than you look. But," he said standing up and straightening his letterman jacket, "my offer still stands. And, you can bring your new friend too."

We all watched as he walked away confidently, as though he had gotten me to agree to the date.

"Dude," Morgan said. "Does that happen every day?"

"Pretty much," MJ and I said simultaneously.

MJ then preceded to tell Morgan a lengthy story about the years of experiences I've had with Flash as I stared out at the group of students around me.

As I stared across the room, my eyes met with Peter's.

He was leaning against the doorway of the cafeteria, his jaw clenched and his arms crossed.

He held my gaze for a moment, before turning around and disappearing into the crowded hallways.

 

I sat in study hall, an hour still left until the final bell of the day when a flustered looking Morgan and an almost concerned looking Michelle burst through the doors in my direction.

"Yes?" I asked not even looking up from my textbook.

"Gwen, you have to come with us. Like now," Morgan stated.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Peter."


	7. Chapter 7

 

_se·cret_

_not known or seen or not meant to be known or seen by others_

 

I followed MJ and Morgan down the hallway. They hadn't told me what was going on but had insisted on practically running towards the event.

I turned a corner and saw a group of people circled around what was most likely some kind of fight.

My brain started imagining the worst. I imagined Peter being beaten by yet another bully, or trying but failing to protect another bullied kid yet again.

But the thing I saw when I pushed through the crowd of people broke my heart.

Peter was dodging punches from Flash. He grabbed the back of his shirt, slammed him against the nearby lockers, and throwing him towards another jock. The jock failed to catch him and Flash ended up on the ground.

The jock pulled Flash to his feet.

"You're a freak, Parker! Always have been, always will be."

Peter went to lunge at Flash but I ran in front of him first.

"Peter. Stop," I said my right hand on his chest, my left around his wrist.

"Move, Gwen. I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm strong too, remember? Please, Peter. Just come with me."

When Peter didn't answer, I moved my right hand from his chest to his shoulder and pulled him to a nearby door that led outside.

"Peter." He hung his head. "Talk to me, please. It's just me."

"How do you do it?" He asked raising his head.

"Do what?"

"Let them talk to you that way. Let them talk  _about_  you that way."

He pulled out of my grip.

"I don't  _let_  them do anything. If you haven't noticed, I can handle it. I do handle it."

"Gwen, I saw you! I went to the cafeteria to find you and you were just letting him be a pig towards you. And when you pushed him, I finally thought he would leave you alone. But then I heard Flash talking about how he was 'totally gonna hit that' to all of his friends. He thinks that you're just playing hard to get and that when you finally say yes, he can do whatever he wants to you."

"What do you want me to do about that Peter? I can't change the way anyone thinks! All that I can do is stand up for myself until they finally realize that I'm stronger than they think I am!"

"I want you to care! I want you to not accept what they're doing to you like it's normal."

"But it is normal to me, Peter. Every person I have ever met thinks that I'm some blonde bimbo that can't tell her head from her ass! But I'm a scientist. I'm a straight-A student that's never gotten in trouble in her life. And then I dated Harry and now everyone assumes that they can get into my pants before they can even learn my name. And believe me, I fought as hard as I could! I thought that if I said no and I pushed them away that they would stay away and leave me alone, but they didn't. So I just stopped saying anything at all."

Peter turned and started to walk away towards the door.

"No! You don't get to do that," I said grabbing his arm. "You don't get to attack someone and then talk to me the way you did. You are not this person Peter. The Peter that I know never would have done what you did. The very thought would have made him sick."

"But you don't know me, Gwen! You have no idea who I am and you never have. So stop pretending you know anything about me and just leave me alone!"

"Mr. Parker."

We both turned to look at the man speaking, only to see Principal Morita.

"My office."

I let go of Peter's arm and walked to the door. I put my hand on the handle but turned to look at Peter.

"Call me when you remember who you really are," I said opening the door and walking through it.

I passed Flash and his friends down the hallway as he described how much of a freak and abomination Peter is.

At the end of the hallway stood a nervous-looking Morgan and a confused looking MJ.

"Well?" Morgan asked. "What happened?"

"Let's just talk about this later. I don't feel like dealing with this again."

I turned around in a feeble attempt to get to my next class, but MJ stopped me before I could move.

"I know how you feel about him."

"What do you mean?" I asked turning back around.

"Every time you're around him, you get all sarcastic and stupid while he gets all awkward. Not that he wasn't awkward before because let's face it, Parker's always been a scared little puppy dog, but whether or not you admit it to yourself, you see Peter as more than a friend. And I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I know he feels the same way."

"You're insane. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get to class."

That day when I walked out of school was the first time in my life where I ever questioned the way I feel about Peter Parker.

An hour later I arrived home to an empty house. My dad was at work and my mom had taken my brothers to whatever sports they were playing that day, so I had a solid hour until anyone would arrive home.

I sat down at my desk in front of my computer and pulled the flash drive Peter had given to me the night before out of my desk.

_"I want you to take it," Peter said thrusting the flash drive into my hand._

_"Why? Dad cop, remember?"_

_"I'd rather have it secure at the home of a police chief than in an unsecured suburban home."_

I plugged it into my computer.

Just like the previous times I had checked the contents of the drive, dozens of folders appeared on my screen.

I looked at the names.

_N.O._   
_M.W._   
_R.K._   
_D.S._   
_F.M._   
_V.C._   
_Q.B._   
_O.O._   
_W.F._   
_Roosevelt_

**_Roosevelt_ **

Dozens of files, dozens of abbreviated names. Roosevelt was the only file with a full name attached.

I clicked on the file and a document appeared.

The coordinates 40°45'23.5182"N 73°58' 24.8298"W were enlarged across the top of the document. A sentence written across the bottom.

_If life gets tough, there's always one thing you can count on._

I didn't know what those words meant, but I knew someone that might. I wanted to call Peter more than anything but I couldn't give in that easily.

But one text couldn't hurt. Right?

_To Peter_

_Hey. I might have found something. Text me when you can._

_Delivered 3:47 p.m._

I waited an hour for him to respond before I unplugged the drive and hid it in a loose floorboard at the bottom of my closet.

I heard my mom and brothers walk through the house which meant that I was no longer alone.

I walked out of my room and into the kitchen to see my mother making dinner and Eddie and Simon sitting at the dining room table doing their homework. I didn't see Philip but I heard the water running, so I assumed that he was in the shower.

In ten minutes my mother was asking about my day. In another half an hour my father arrived home. Within twenty minutes we were eating and then done in another thirty.

I awoke in my bed by the sound of my phone ringing. My alarm clock read  _3:36_  a.m.

I looked at the contact of the person calling me and saw the name,  **Peter**.

"So," I said answering the phone. "You finally decided to answer me."

"Gwen," he said. He sounded genuinely scared. "Something happened. It's really bad."

"Peter. What's wrong? What happened?"

"It's Ben. He's been shot."

 


	8. Chapter 8

_loss_

_the fact or process of losing something or someone._

 

"It's done, sir. Stage 2 is almost complete."

"Good. One down, one to go."

~~ • ~~

I practically jumped out of my cab when it stopped at the end of the street. It was dark and cold but I could see a silhouette in the dim light coming from the nearby streetlamp.

His head in his hands, his knees to his chest, his body shaking.

I walked towards him hesitantly, not quite sure what to say or do.

"Pete."

He only responded by lifting his head.

As I got closer, I could now clearly see Peter's tearstained face and his sorrowful expression.

"Peter," I said sitting down next to him. "Tell me what happened."

"I don't- I don't... I ca-an't."

Peter burst out sobbing, his head landing back in his hands.

I didn't know what he was going through, I didn't know how I could help him. So, in that moment, I did the only thing I could think to do. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulled his head to my chest, and let him cry.

 

Later that night, I had safely gotten Peter to his house. He didn't say a word on the way and I wasn't going to ask him to.

There were officers inside and their police cars on the street, every red and blue light on.

I walked Peter inside to his bedroom, sitting him down on his bed and taking off his shoes and jacket. He lied down, his face emotionless, as I pulled up his covers and then walked out of the room. I knew he wasn't going to go to sleep, but it brought me comfort to know he was safe.

When I reached the end of the steps, I saw my father sitting next to Peter's Aunt May. He looked over and glanced at me briefly before returning his focus to her. When their conversation ended, he made his way over to me.

"What are you doing here?" He asked me.

I gave him an honest answer.

"Peter needed me."

I had hugged May before I left, telling her that Peter was home safe in his bed.

 

Peter didn't come to school the next day or even the day after that. My father had driven me home that night, and I hadn't spoken to Peter since then.

May had called me two days after telling me when Ben's funeral would be and that she would truly appreciate it if I could come. So, I dressed in a black dress and had my mom drive me to the funeral parlor.

May greeted friends and family before they went inside. Peter stood next to her, Ned by his side, staring at the ground.

His head raised as I walked closer but his face, like that night, showed no emotion.

I put my hand on his cheek to shift his focus to me. Only then did his stonefaced demeanor break and reveal his authentic, broken appearance.

I pulled him into my arms and let him relax, without judgment, for as long as he needed.

Peter didn't say anything throughout the service, but he accepted my hand when I offered it and didn't let it go.

 

When the service was over, everyone was ushered outside to the waiting cars. I moved to follow Ned and his parents to a separate car than Peter and May's, but Peter wouldn't let go of my hand.

It was silent in the car. Not even May, who had been full of stories and jokes when I had first met her, made a sound.

The clouds in the sky that had been wispy and white that morning were now darker and denser. It was like all of the light had been sucked out of the day.

The burial was short and the number of people had decreased, but the pain that could be felt in the air had stayed the same.

 

I had to practically pull Peter away from his uncle's grave when it was time for us to leave. Though my mom had arrived, I had motioned for her to wait and I walked Peter off in the opposite direction. We walked down a path towards the front of the Cemetary, only the birds and the wind could be heard.

"You know after my parents died," he said. His voice hollow and heavy. "Anytime Uncle Ben would catch me crying or upset, he would say, 'Life will knock us down, but we can choose—" 

"...we can choose whether or not to stand back up. Jackie Chan,  _The Karate Kid_."

"It was his favorite movie. He said that when he was younger, he always wanted to be a ninja. Then the original Karate Kid came out and he never stopped watching it. He always said he wanted his own Mr. Miyagi. He loved the new one even more and practically worshipped everything that Mr. Han said. It's that kind of memory that hurts the most. Remembering how happy he was."

"Sometimes memories are the worst form of torture. My grandma always said, 'There are two things a person should never be angry at. What they can help, and what they cannot.'"

"Plato," he said.

"She quoted so many philosophers that I was almost convinced that she was old enough to know them personally. Then I found out she was a retired philosophy professor at Columbia."

He smiled. It was the first time I had seen him even remotely happy in the past few days. But the smile didn't last long.

"He left me a message that night."

"Did you listen to it?" I asked.

"I couldn't bring myself to do it before. But after saying goodbye to him forever, I think I'm finally ready to try."

He let go of my hand and pulled out his phone. I turned to face him as he opened his voicemail. But as his finger hovered over the play button, he didn't move. It was almost like his whole body had become frozen. I grabbed his unoccupied hand, squeezing it, before using my other hand to press play.

" _Peter, I know things have been difficult lately, and I'm sorry about that. I think I know what you're feeling. Ever since you were a little boy you've been living with so many unresolved things. Well take it from an old man, those things send us down a road, they make us who we are. If anyone is destined for greatness, it's you, son. You owe the world your gifts, you just have to figure out how to use them. And know that wherever they take you, we'll always be there. So come on home Peter, you're my hero, and I love you._ "

Peter's icy exterior melted away. After hearing his uncle's voice, I had seen a glimpse of the once hopeful boy full of life and happiness. It was only for a few seconds, but it was enough to make me hopeful that Peter would one day get better. That he would use his inner strength that I knew he had buried deep inside himself.

"'You can't move on until you let go of the past.' It's one of those things people say. You never think it applies to you until one day, it just does. Letting go is the easy part, it's the moving on that's painful. So sometimes we fight it, trying to keep things the same. But things can't stay the same. At some point, you just have to let it go. Move on. Because no matter how painful it is, it's the only way we grow. You don't have to be ruled by fate. You can choose freedom. And I believe that's still something worth fighting for," I said.

“It must be rough. To believe in something so much just to have it disappoint you over and over again.”

“I guess if you’re gonna have faith, you can’t just have it when the miracles happen. You have to have it when they don’t.”

"And what if I don't have a choice. What if life just piles tragedy upon tragedy on me until I suffocate?"

"You always have a choice, Peter. You can either roll over and die, or you can keep fighting. No matter what. Walk tall. All you can do is be brave enough to get out there. You fought. You loved. You lost. Walk tall."

"What if I can't even stand? What if every time I move, I feel like someone is ripping my heart out?"

"Then decide to be fine until the end of the week. Make yourself smile, because you’re alive and that’s your job. Then do it again the next week. Eventually, it'll become a natural routine. It'll hurt every time you think of him, yes. But over time, it will hurt less and less. And eventually you'll remember him and it will only hurt a little. Eventually, you'll think about all the good times, not just the bad ones. Walk tall. If it hurts to stand, I'll be your crutch. I'm not going anywhere. Just remember that the next time you feel like you're gonna fall, tell me because I'm gonna be there to catch you if you do."

I leaned my head closer to his and in one solid motion, I kissed his cheek. I smiled when I looked back into his eyes. A slight hint of pink was covering his cheeks, but I didn't say anything about it.

"I have to go, but call me if you need anything. You don't even have to say anything, but I'll always answer."

I gave him one last hug before I let go of his hand and walked in the direction of my mom's car.

I smiled knowing that even though the day was full of sorrow, I had made Peter smile. Even if just for a moment, I took away some of that pain. And that's the best thing I could have asked for.


End file.
